This documentary is deeply disturbing. And it’s focused only on one notorious case. Unfortunately, news media reports cases like the Steubenville rape all too frequently. To boost awareness of rape culture and its consequences to individual women and girls and their communities, Roll Red Roll should be mandatory viewing for teens, parents and educators nationwide.

3 Faces is particularly engaging in the expositive way it reveals how women of all ages. various ettnic groups and different social classes cope with the same hardships and dehumanization they all must endure in Iran under the country’s male-dominated culture. Director Jafar Panahi, obviously in sympathy with the oppressed, captures all the troubling nuances of the women’s daily life and the subtle support they give to each other. 3 Faces isn’t playing in Iran, but it is touring the world. You should see it.

Jafar Panahi Panahi shot This Is Not A Film in his Tehran apartment, while he was under house arrest. Although he could be put back in jail at any time, he defied his sentence by making This Is Not A Film, using digital cameras, including an iPhone, to document his daily life.

If you see the study of history as a route to informed interpretation of the present, Oren Rudavsky’s Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People is essential and timely viewing. The film is an investigative biopic about the legendary publisher who changed the face and flow of modern journalism, and rewrote the rule book on using newspapers — the prime media outlet during his life time — to influence the political, social and economic milieu at the heart of the American Dream. Most people know Pulitzer primarily for the coveted journalism award presented in his name, but this fascinating and powerful American influencer has an extraordinary life story and the release of this thoroughly researched documentary is timely indeed.

In The Business of Being Born, director Abby Epstein and producer Ricki Lake focus our attention on the issue of childbearing practices in the United States in much the same way Michael Moore highlighted the American health care system in Sicko. Both Epstein and Lake play dramatic roles in investigating the way in which the medical establishment deals with birthing and showing midwifery as a viable alternative for women who wish to avoid invasive procedures. This is a subject of interest and concern to us all–whether or not childbearing happens to be on our personal agenda.

The Trump administration’s determination to define gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth, would eradicate federal recognition and civil rights protections of approximately 1.4 million transgender Americans. In response and as a counter measure, Women Make Movies has initiated the #WontBeErased Screen In, an online streaming program of enlightening LGBTQ films, curated to honor and celelbrate our trans, intersex and gender non-conforming family, friends and colleagues. This collection, essential for fostering the work of diversity, inclusion and tolerance, is streaming for free for two weeks, beginning today.

The official announcement of nonfiction nominees for the Third Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards (CCDA) kicks off this year’s race for nonfic recognition, and what a race it is. Throughout the year, documentary production and distribution have soared, making 2018 the year of trending nonfiction.

Honoring the legendary anthropologist Margaret Mead, this year’s festival focuses on the theme “Resilience in Motion, documenting stories that celebrate individuals who are breaking new ground or breaking free despite challenging circumstances and sparking provocative conversations­—whether they’re about battling voter suppression in Cumberland County, North Carolina, or Nigerian school girls kidnapped by Boko Haram struggling to regain normalcy after their release from captivity, or transgender women in Tonga creating safe spaces for self-expression.

Masterfully bewitching storytelling, a superb performances by first-time actor Maggie Mulubwa and a fine ensemble cast, exquisite cinematography that reveals nuanced emotions in close ups and captures broad sweeps of the arid landscape, and outstanding editing skills that balance satire and serious social commentary have brought <em>I Am Not A Witch</em> into contention for Oscar gold as the UK’s submission for best foreign film. Rungano Nyoni’s cinematic style is unique and fascinating. <em>I Am Not A Witch</em> is a must see. And, it warrants a second watch, as well.

Abigail Disney’s Fork Films is dividng $625,000 in grants among 16 new documentaries that align with the company’s dedication to promoting peacebuilding, human rights, and social justice. All are directed and or produced by women. Selected from 500 applicants, the chosen films address topics ranging from refugee and immigration stories, to incarceration, civil rights, disability rights and media depictions of transgender people, as well as other timely topics. The unprecedented number of applications indicates growing demand for nonfiction storytelling in this turbulent time. Fork Films is committed to supporting voices not prioritized in mainstream media, and has given out nearly $5,000,000 in grant and investments to more than 100 documentaries to date.